Bottle cap



March 26, 1929. w s m 1,706,720

BOTTLE CAP Original Filed Oct. 23. 1922 fig. 1.

fig. 5.

2/ R mnuI-\ 2/ INVENTOR Henry h eflsiez'n B 7 ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 26, 1929.

UNITED STATES HENRY WETTSTEIN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BOTTLE CAP.

Substitute for application Serial No. 596,386, filed October 23, 1922. This application filed August 2, 1927. Serial No. 210,040.

This invention relates to improvements in closures for bottles or the like and pertains particularly to that type of metallic caps known as crown caps.

The difliculties of removing a crown cap from a bottle without the use of a suitable tool provided for that purpose, are well known. Numerous attempts have been made heretofore to design a cap which, while effecting an eflieient closure for the bottle, may be quickly and easily removed without the use of tools.

My invention contemplates the provision of a crown cap which may be forced on to 1 a bottle by the capping device now generally used but which eliminates the disadvantages inherent in the caps deslgned to solve the problem above set forth, 1n that my improved cap seals the bottle opening throughout the entire c rcmnference of the cap and at the same time provides a reinforced extension suitably shaped and capable of manipulation for removing the cap when desired. My invention further con- 2 templates the provision of a novel-method for applying my improved cap to a bottle which consists essentially of providing an extension on the cap arranged in a position other than the final position and then forcing the crown cap into engagement with the bottle while simultaneously rotating the projection close to or in contact with't-he neck of the bottle.

The various objects of my invention Wlll 'made clear as the description, thereof proceeds, and from the drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 is a plan. view of a metal blank from which my improved cap may be formed.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of my mproved .cap as it apcpars before its aphcation to a bottle.

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the same as it appears after its application to a bottle.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of the extensions on the cap taken on the line 1--4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section of a bottle neck, of the cap as it appears in its initial position on the bottle, and a suitable tool for applying the cap to a bottle, and

Fig. (5 is a similar view of the same showing the parts in the final positions thereof after the cap has been applied to the bottle.

My improved cap may be formed from a flange and the projection and spaced apart at substantially regular intervals in the usual manner. The flange 12 however, is made of uniform depth throughout, and is uninterrupted throughout its entire circumferencefor the purpose of effecting an airtight closure adapted to grip the bottle all around including that portion of the cap at which the extension 15 is formed. It is clear that if said extension 15 would be cut ofl", the flange 12 and the projection 13 would be of perfectly uniform shape throughout its entire circumference and would result in the crown cap now commonly used, which I will term a conventional crown cap. Said extension 15 is suitably reinforced by a multiplicity of corrugations l6 continuous with certain of the corrugations in the flange 12 and the projection 13 for the purpose of giving said extension the requisite stiffness, and preventing said extension from failing under stress when said extension is pressed into final or operative position, or when it is tilted for the purpose of removing the cap from the bottle. As illustrated in Fig. 4, I prefer to make said extension 15 convex outwardly across the width thereof and to curve said extension reversely by bending the upper portion 17 thereof convexly outwardly and reversing the curvature of the lower part 18 thereof by making it concave outwardly for providing a portion adapted to be readily engaged by the finger of the user. I prefer further, to join the extension 15 to the projection 13 by means of a suitable fillet as 19 in a curve of considerable radius for the purpose of strengthening the connection between said extension and said projection. I

It willbe noted that in the normal position of the parts the extension 15 is arranged at an angle to the projection 13 and to the flange 12. A flexible disc as 20 is interposed between the top of the bottle and the under side of the crown cap in the usual manner.

In applying my improved cap to a bottle, the cap is placed on the bottle in the customary mannerv with the extension 15 however, outstanding at an angle from the bottle neck. \Vhen the cap applying tool 21 is brought down upon the cap the projection 13 is bent suflicicntly to cause the juncture point 22 between the flange 12 and the projection 13 to be forced underneath the bead 23 of the bottle around the entire circumfercnce of the cap, the tool 21 being brought down a sufficient distance to ensure the clamping of the cap tightly upon the bead. At the same time the tool 21 engages the extension 15 at the upper portion 17 thereof and rotates said extension from its normal position in the final position illustratcd in Fig. 6 wherein said extension is close to or in contact with the neck of the bottle. In this position, the finger portion 18 extends from the bottle neck a comparatively ina-ppreciahle distance so that the capped bottles may be handled and packed in the ordinary way and danger of said extension being accidcntly struck and the bottle uncapped, is eliminated.

To remove a cap from the bottle, the finger may be inserted underneath the finger member 18 and the extension rotated about the juncture line 22 until said extension reaches a position close to its original position before it has been applied to the bottle. By so tilting the'extension 15, the corrugations 16 are disengaged from the head of the bottle neck making it easy to apply further upward pressure on said extension to completely remove the cap from the bottle. The

corrugation 16 however, and the peculiar curvature of the extension 15 serve to so stiffen said extension that failure thereof under the stress applied thereto is prevented.

It will be seen that by reason of the peculiar shape of the extension 15 and of the structure joining said extension to the remainder of the cap considerable force may be exerted upon said extension without the use of any tools whatever so that the cap may be readily and quickly removed from the bottle. It will be seen further, that my improved cap engages the bottle throughout the entire circumference of the top thereof and forms an eflicient seal.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, I do not intend to be limited to the specific construction shown and described but intend instead, to claim my invention as broadly as is permitted by the state of the prior art.

I claim:

1. A bottle cap comprising a substantially non-resilient metallic structure having a substantially vertical edge flange corrugated throughout to permit the same to be turned throughout beneath the bead of the bottle to hold the cap in place, said flange terminating in a corrugated angularly arranged circumferential projection having an integral extension forming a finger piece, with the corrugations of the edge flange extending in unbroken continuity into and along the projection and the extension, whereby in applying the cap, the bending of the flange in place causes part of the flange, the projection, and the extension to be forced into contact with the surface of the bottle.

2. A bottle cap comprising a substantially non-resilient metallic structure having a substantially flat upper surface, a depending flange and an edge projection of uniform width extending outwardly beyond the lower edge of said flange, said flange being of uniform depth throughout and corrugated and unbroken throughout its entire circumference, said projection having corrugations therein continuous with the corrugations of said flange and an extension of a single thickness of material forming part thereof and continuous with and inclined to said flange and said projection, said extension being curved convexly outwardly across its width and being revcrsely curved throughout its length, a multiplicity of corrugations in said extension continuous with the corrugations of said flange, the corrugations of said flange and said projection being adapted to be bent into engagement with the neck of a bottle at regular intervals throughout the entire circumference thereof by downward pressure exerted on the corrugations of the edge projection and the extension being adapted to be forced close to the neck of a bottle into substantial parallelism with the axis of said flange with the lower extremity of said extension convex toward and outstanding from the bottle When the cap is applied to the bottle.

3. A bottle cap comprising a substantially non-resilient metallic structure having a flange corrugated and uninterrupted throughout the circumference of said cap, indentations in said flange adapted to be turned beneath the head of a bottle neck throughout the entire circumference thereof the lowermost ends of the indentations being spaced at all points the same distance from the top of the cap, and an extension projecting from the edge of said flange in a substantially vertical direction close to the neck of the bottle in the operative position thereof and at a different angle to the flange in the normal or unapplied position thereof the angle made by said extension with the flange being changed when the extension is titled away from the bottle.

4. A bottle cap comprising a metallic structure having a corrugated flange and a corrugated extension continuous with and extending at an angle to the edge of said flange, said extension being reversely curved longitudinally intermediate of \the ends thereof and also curved transversely, whereby in aflixing the cap to a bottle having an upper head, the downward pressure applied on the flange causes said extension to be bent from its angular position inwardly toward the neck of the bottle and underneath the bead thereof and a lifting movement on the end of said extension after the cap has been applied first tilts said extension away from the bottle and thereby deforms the cap then tilts the cap off the bottle.

5. The method of applying a cap to a bottle having ahead at the upper end, for the easy removal of said cap from the bottle consisting of providing a corrugated bottle cap with an extension projecting therefrom in a position other than the final position of said extension, applying the cap to the bottle by applying downward pressure to said cap at the corrugations thereof and thereby simultaneously bending the lower part of the cap inwardly throughout into engagement with the undersides of the bead of the bottle about the entire circumference thereof and bending the extension from its initial position into its final position into contact with the neck of the bottle whereby the lower end of the extension may first be titled away from the bottle neck and then pressed upwardly to tilt the cap off the head of the bottle.

6. In a non-resilient unmutilated bottle cap of the conventional crown type, a spherically curved tab extending in an inclined position from the flange of the cap, said tab being adapted to be bent into contact with the neck of a bottle when the cap is afiixed to the bottle in the conventional manner.

7. In a substantially non-resilient bottle cap of the conventional crown type, having a complete circumferential flange, and a complete uninterrupted projection at and continuous with the lower edge of said flange, adapted to be pressed downward and thereby to move inwardly on to the beaded neck of a bottle to grip said bottle completely about the neck thereof, an extension beginning at the outer edge of said projection and continuing therefnom at a downward slope identical with the slope of said projection, and being curved downwardly longitudinally.

HENRY WETTSTEIN. 

